Archive for February, 2006Find a review for restaurants in your area: SYDNEY BONDI BEACH CITY DARLINGHURST DARLING HARBOUR HABERFIELD NEWTOWN NORTH RYDE RANDWICK CANBERRA MANUKA O’CONNOR MELBOURNE BRUNSWICK Find a review by the name of the restaurant: SYDNEY A Spicy Affair (Indian, VVV) CANBERRA MELBOURNE
V Rating: V-Ware Marinetti is a charming little restaurant in the O’Connor shops in North Canberra. There are many things to like about it: the loud and busy (but not overbearing) atmosphere, the fact that there is no charge for corkage, the friendly waitstaff, and the warm and unpretentious touches that make it homely (eg. menus are simply printed on plain A4 paper, stapled together). Sadly, for vegetarians, the choice of dishes is somewhat limited. For entree there is a choice between mushrooms in a creamy white wine sauce served on toasted crusty Italian bread, minestrone soup, and a cold eggplant platter. I chose the mushrooms (as did both the friends I was dining with) - they were divine. I don’t know how they manage to get such an amount of flavour from such a simple dish. Perhaps the trick is to use a variety of mushrooms - there were some types I just couldn’t recognise. For mains, the choice is more limited: in fact, there is no choice. There is only one dish available as a main for vegetarians - crepes filled with spinach and ricotta. (The crepes are also available as an entree size - $9.50 - and given how rich they are, that size would probably be enough for most people). If you don’t like cheese, you’re in trouble: the crepes are filled with ricotta and covered in melted cheese. It is, I have to say, a pretty unrewarding dish, lacking in depth of flavour. (If I were to have the meal again, I would have the eggplant platter as entree and ask for the mushrooms to be served as a main.) You would think an Italian restaurant could do some other vegetarian options: a basic vegetarian pasta, for instance. It may be the case that if you asked they would adjust one of the pasta dishes on their menu to make it vegetarian. But I did not ask if this was possible - I don’t think vegetarians should be obliged to seek special changes to be made to menu items. Marinetti does some great dishes for meat-eaters, so I am told. The kidneys, liver, snails and lamb shanks are all well-recommended by my carnivorous friends. For vegetarians it is just not so good. - AC
V Rating: V-Ware I feel kind of bad giving the Pink Peppercorn a V-ware rating. The service was friendly, the decor was fun and welcoming and the two vegetarian dishes they offered were fresh and tasty. But there’s the rub. For a relatively expensive restaurant with a long list of dishes, it was particularly depressing to discover that there was little choice of vegetarian food. None of the entrees on the menu were vegetarian, although a vegetarian version of the ‘golden rolls’ is available on request. Of the 18 main dishes, only two are vegetarian (and vegan). A green papaya salad is offered as a main, but comes with meat. To be fair, there were two vegetarian side salads so you won’t go hungry. But this is cold comfort wen you’re watching the other patrons salivating over their extensive options. Despite the lack of veggie options, I enjoyed the Pink Peppercorn. For a start, you don’t see Laotian restaurants every day in Sydney. Added to this, the restaurant has a bright, modern appeal with lonely planetesque canvas photographs adorning the wall, bright pink serviettes and a mirrored bar to give the restaurant some Oxford street glam. My friend and I ordered both vegetarian mains (one is a mild vegetarian curry and the other is a stir fry). I was pleasantly surprised by the fresh flavours. The stir fry was quickly cooked, releasing the taste of the vegetables and complementing them with a light sauce. The dishes were a good size, and went well with the long grain rice with jasmine. But then, at $18 a pop you expect an above average meal.
V Rating: VV Green’s is a charming cafe just a heartbeat away from the madding crowds of Bondi Beach. The decor is rustic country with a leftie feel - carefully chosen country antiques, white painted wooden chairs, and a mismatched collection of green paintings and plates on the walls. One of the best things about Green’s is that they only do breakfast and lunch. Any place that knows its strength lies in boiled eggs and ricotta on toast gets brownie points from me. And for vegetarians, Green’s certainly does its stuff well. Of the 17 menu items, 10 are vegetarian. This includes fresh ricotta on toast with avocado, tomato and rocket; boiled eggs and toast; and asparagus and blue cheese salad with beetroot, endive and crushed walnuts. Another veggie option is the parmesan scrambled eggs with roasted tomatoes and mushrooms on toast which I’ve enjoyed on a couple of occasions. On the day I reviewed Green’s the parmesan eggs were delicate and tasty. Unfortunately, the single mushroom and cherry tomato were more garnish than side, and the mushroom was greasy. The picture is not so rosy for vegans. Only one menu item is vegan (pear and hazlenut muesli with poached nectarines and soy milk. Fortunately it’s great muesli). Nothing else on the menu stands out as particularly adaptable, but you could ask. Aside from tasty vegetarian breakfasts, Green’s has a lovely outdoor courtyard that feels like someone’s backyard, friendly staff and a great range of teas, smoothies and cakes. It’s a shame that Green’s is not more vegan friendly, otherwise it would have scored a definite VVV.
V Rating: V-ware Sumac is a relatively new Middle Eastern restaurant on the Pyrmont side of Darling Harbour. I went there a couple of times last year and was pleasantly surprised at the range of vegetarian options on the menu. I’ve since recommended it to a number of people on that basis. Imagine my horror when I eagerly returned for lunch this year only to discover that the veggie friendly menu had been replaced with a meat and seafood fest. There is now no vegetarian main option on the Sumac lunch menu. I find this really disappointing given that there were at least three last year. There are around four entree options that are vegetarian, though not all are vegan. There are two vegetarian salads (rocket and haloumi and a fattoush salad) but only one is vegan. A quick scan of the dinner menu posted on the Sumac website shows it’s equally veggie unfriendly, with a pizza the only vegetarian main option. I don’t know why Sumac shed its vegetarian options. Judging by the largely empty tables on the day I was there, it hasn’t made a significant improvement to their trade. It’s a shame that they’ve changed their menu because the combination of interesting decor, pleasant Darling harbour views, helpful staff and genuinely interesting vegetarian options made Sumac a good restaurant choice. Now, they have the dubious honour of earning this site’s first V-ware rating.
V Rating: VV I’ve never been to Spain but I’m told that it’s not a particularly veggie friendly place. I certainly view Spanish restaurants and tapas bars with a healthy amount of trepidation. This is why Captain Torres was a pleasant surprise. While the menu is dominated by meat and seafood, some simple touches make it clear that Captain Torres is aware that vegetarians exist, and has made an effort to cater for them. The main menu features a selection of entrees (including some veggie options), salads, bread and mains. Happily, there’s a vegetarian section of the menu, which includes a vegetarian paella and vegetable dish. The extensive tapas menu is largely based around meat and seafood, but does include three vegetarian options (deep fried potatoes in a chilli tomato sauce, grilled capsicum marinated in oil, and a delicious vegetarian tortilla). We were also able to get the entree garlic mushrooms in a creamy sauce upgraded to a tapas dish. The tapas dishes were tasty and a good size for sharing amongst a large group. The food can be washed down with a selection of beers, as well as sangria served in a half litre or litre option. The service was a little scattergun, and my group was puzzled to find that not only had we been over charged for our drinks, we’d also been charged for them twice. Captain Torres has a decidedly kitsch feel. The waiters are attentive and the narrow, crowded interior is decorated with ‘authentic’ Spanish touches. I can’t say whether it is like a little piece of Spain off George Street - but it wouldn’t surprise me to find something similar in the main streets of Madrid happily catering to the tourist market. All in all my visit to Captain Torres has inspired me to think that a visit to Spain might offer some genuinely good veggie moments. |
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